News

A street vendor fries food for lunch customers in Mexico City on July 10. Mexico has now surpassed the United States in levels of adult obesity, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

World News

Following Bloomberg's Lead, Mexico Aims To Fight Fat

11:10am October 24, 2013

by Carrie Kahn

In the battle against the bulge, lawmakers in Mexico are taking aim at consumers' pocketbooks. They're proposing a series of new taxes on high-calorie food and sodas. Health advocates say the higher prices will get Mexicans to change bad habits, but the beverage industry and small businesses are fighting back.

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Why Postponing Insurance Mandate Is No Easy Fix For Obamacare

7:57pm October 23, 2013

by Julie Rovner

One of the big questions now is what will happen if the federal health insurance website can't be fixed soon. Will the government penalize people for not having insurance if they couldn't realistically buy it?

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Mike Bracken is executive director of digital for the U.K. government.

National

U.K. Official Urges U.S. Government To Adopt A Digital Core

6:43pm October 23, 2013

by Elise Hu

Does this sound familiar? A national IT project plagued with high-profile problems, integration breakdowns involving contractors, and taxpayers left footing a multimillion-dollar price tag: The scenario's playing out with HealthCare.gov, but a similar one in the U.K. led to major reforms.

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Tara Heaton (left) and Crystal Mayfield with guide Fred Williams at a women's antelope hunt in Wyoming. Before the event, both women had hunted almost exclusively with male relatives, not other women.

Sports

Enthusiasts Encourage More Women To Give Hunting A Shot

3:00pm October 23, 2013

by Irina Zhorov

Hunting is a popular U.S. pastime, but most hunters are male. A women's foundation in Wyoming is trying to change that through mentorship and a new women's hunting competition. The sport isn't just fun, the group says; it's also a good way for mothers to put food on the table.

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A September 1959 advertisement for the Xerox 914

Economy

Happy Birthday, Copy Machine! Happy Birthday, Copy Machine!

2:37pm October 23, 2013

by Kate O'Connell

This week marks the 75th anniversary of the first modern copier ever made. The technology, which came from serial inventor Chester Carlson, revolutionized the business world and formed the foundation of Xerox's success. It also meant no more messy carbon paper.

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National

How A County Clerk Ignited The Gay Marriage Debate In N.M.

12:51pm October 23, 2013

by Richard Gonzales

In August, Lynn Ellins, the clerk of Dona Ana County and a long-time supporter of same-sex marriage, decided to "put the ball in play" by issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. More than 900 marriage licenses have been issued to gay couples across the state.

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Hit The Numbers: Stats guys say that the clutch is a random crap shoot.

Sports

Frank Deford: 'Some Of Us Are More Valiant Than The Rest'

9:16am October 23, 2013

by Frank Deford

As the World Series begins, the sports commentator longs for proof of the existence of a legitimate clutch hitter. Stats guys say that the clutch is a random crap shoot.

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The Chinese border town of Suifenhe is a port of entry for almost all of the hardwood coming from the Russian Far East. Russia is the world's largest exporter of timber, but illegal logging is a growing problem.

World News

In Russia's Vast Far East, Timber Thieves Thrive

8:11am October 23, 2013

by Corey Flintoff

The demand for Russia's high-value timber is fueling organized crime, government corruption and illegal logging. The hardwood often ends up as flooring and furniture in the United States, Europe, Japan and China.

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Wil Smith with his daughter, Olivia, today.

A Father, A Daughter And Lessons Learned

6:47am October 23, 2013

by NPR Staff

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of StoryCorps we hear again from Wil Smith, a single dad who took his infant daughter, Olivia, with him when he went to college. Now, Wil is helping Olivia with her school search, a role he says he's happy to have after a battle with colon cancer.

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Times Square near 42nd Street in New York City, in the 1920s.

National

The Sounds Of New York City, Circa 1920

7:59pm October 22, 2013

by Theo Balcomb

A team led by Emily Thompson, a history professor at Princeton, has matched noise complaints from New York City in the Roaring '20s with the actual street sounds of the day.

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